On Sunday, William Byron dominates the day and seals his first victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400.
The NASCAR Cup Series rolls into week three on the west coast. This week Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted a 400-mile showdown in the desert. With the season in full swing, teams are settling into the long grind that the season campaign can be. However, heading out to Las Vegas, teams and drivers alike are looking to gamble and are in a place to grab an early season win.
Joey Logano Leads the NASCAR Cup Series Field to the Green Flag
Joey Logano started on the pole, but William Byron took over the race lead early. Byron passed Logano ten laps into the race to separate himself from the field.
The opening stage ran caution free with green flag pit road stops for fuel and tires midway through the segment. William Byron cycled back into the lead, holding on to win the first stage.
Hendrick Motorsports Take the Top Three during the Second Stage
William Byron started alongside Kyle Larson to begin the second segment. Larson was spinning his tires on the restart, allowing Byron to return to the top of the field. Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman settled in behind William Byron giving Hendrick Motorsports the top three spots.
Again, the second stage ran caution free with Byron leading the whole way. He had a clean green flag stop and carried on unbothered to sweep the first two segments.
New Leaders in the Third Stage
William Byron again returns to the lead in the final stage, but it was not for long. Eight laps into the segment, Joey Logano hit the outside fence to spin through the grass on the front stretch. The leaders returned to pit road with Denny Hamlin winning the race off pit road.
Kyle Larson drove up from third and passed Hamlin three laps into the run. Larson moved away from the field as the race entered a long green-flag run.
William Byron Dominates the Day and Seals his First Victory at Las Vegas
Moving through the green flag pit cycle, Larson returned to the lead with 32 laps remaining. Kyle Larson had the race all but wrapped up when a caution came out with eight laps remaining. The leaders came down the pit road with Martin Truex Jr staying out on old tires. William Byron edged off Kyle Larson on pit road restarting on the front row.
On the following restart with two laps to go, Truex Jr gave it his best shot, but his tires were too worn to have enough grip in the corners. William Byron soared by him taking the white flag. As the rest of the field fought for position, William Byron was able to smooth his car through all four corners and take the checkered flag his first race win at Las Vegas. It was a podium sweep for Hendrick Motorsports.
The Pennzoil 400 Results
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
William Byron gets the job done early on in the season. Byron soared to the lead early and stayed up front in almost all races. He led 176 laps out of the 267 total laps run. He swept both stages and proved to be the fastest car on the track.
Midway through the final stage he lost the lead due to caution and hoped to be lucky as it appeared Kyle Larson was going to win. William Byron received his help with the caution that came out with eight laps to go, and he was able to reclaim the lead by winning the race off pit road.
All around, it was a solid team performance for Hendrick Motorsports and one they can surely build off of.